Women Empowerment through Participation in Microcredit Programme: A Case Study

Problem statement: Although women constitute almost half of the total population of Bangladesh, they are ascribed a lower status than men. Especially, rural women in Bangladesh experience adverse situations in terms of socio-economic inequality and gender disparity. They are the most deprived of the society and majority of them are extremely poor. Microcredit programme contributes to increase empowerment of rural women in Bangladesh. Approach: This study examines the extent of empowerment creation of rural women through involvement in microcredit programme in Bangladesh. The study is based on empirical data collected through interview from the two groups of rural women e.g., ‘with credit’ and ‘without credit’ rural women. The ‘with credit’ respondent represents the rural women who have taken a loan from the Grammeen Bank’s microcredit programme. Results: The findings show that majority (84%) of the ‘with credit’ respondents are more empowered in terms of family decision making matters compared (76%) to the ‘without credit’ respondent. Conclusion: It is concluded that ‘with credit’ rural women have enhanced their empowerment by participating microcredit programmes of Grameen Bank Bangladesh.